Sunday, 28 February 2016

Seville Orange Marmalade

The Sunday Post: When oranges are in season, i go crazy for the blood oranges, and have at least 1 a day, sometimes even two!! This year i decided to make marmalade, as we have it most weekend mornings, and knew it would get eaten super quickly, and as this post goes up, i can grantee that at least 1 of the large jars have been demolished, and a small dent will have been made in another.

The oranges are pretty easy to find in the supermarkets at this time of year, and easily spotted, as there often packaged quite differently to normal oranges. It might seem like a bit of faff, having to finely chop all the peel, when you can pick up a jar of marmalade for 50p, but i promise you its well worth the effort, any guests will try and sneak a jar away with them!!

Just make sure you have enough jars, to store the marmalade in, otherwise you might end up having to use a bowl like me, if you realise at the last minute. I also recommend sterilising your jars before use, so the marmalade will keep for longer unopened.

I also added 1/2 tbsp of black treacle for a more oxford marmalade taste, as this is what we usually have. If you want a full on oxford, add in 1 tbsp of treacle. I also added in the juice and pith of 1 lemon (with the orange pith), to add in more pectin and another element. If you wanted to create something a bit different for a gift, add in the juice, and pith of a couple of blood oranges, for a different colour and taste.

Ingredients1kg Seville oranges3.4L water2kg sugar1. juice all the oranges into a very large saucepan, along with the water2. scoop out all the seeds and pulp into a muslin and tie it up, then place into the saucepan3. finely julienne the rind, or blitz it up depending on how you like your marmalade, personally i prefer to hand cut it to get nice strips4. add in the rind into the saucepan, and leave to soak overnight, to help extract the pectin5. bring the pan up to a simmer, leave to cook uncovered for 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs, or until the peel is very soft. When the peel is ready it should look slightly see through and feel soft6. remove the muslin, and squeeze at as much juice as possible. discard the muslin7. bring to the boil until setting point 105c, without stirring. This may take about 10 mins.8. leave to cool for 10mins, before filling the jars. Cover with wax disc, and seal.